The senior U.S. Homeland Security Departmentofficial in charge of arresting and deporting illegal immigrants announced hisresignation the same day the agency said that hundreds of people facingdeportation had been released from immigration jails due to looming budgetcuts, according to a resignation letter obtained Wednesday by The AssociatedPress. The government said he had told his bosses weeks ago that he planned toretire.
Gary Mead, executive associate director over enforcement andremoval operations at Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, disclosed hisdeparture in an email to his staff Tuesday afternoon. The announcement of therelease of the illegal immigrants had come earlier in the day.
President Barack Obama's spokesman, Jay Carney, saidWednesday that the decision to release the immigrants was made without anyinput from the White House. He described the immigrants as "low-risk,non-criminal detainees."
The announcement that a few hundred illegal immigrants werebeing released was among the most significant and direct implications describedso far by the Obama administration about the pending, automatic budget cutsthat will take effect later this week under what is known as sequestration.
Republicans in Congress quickly criticized the decision andpressed the Homeland Security Department for details.
In an email to his staff obtained by the AP, Mead said hewas leaving the agency at the end of April "with mixed emotions." Hedid not say what prompted his departure. Mead did not immediately respond to anemail and a telephone call.
A spokeswoman for the agency, Gillian Christensen, saidthere was no connection between Mead's announcement to his staff and thedecision to release the illegal immigrants. She said Mead had told seniorleaders in the agency several weeks ago that he planned to retire.
Mead said Tom Homan will succeed him as acting executiveassociate director.
At the White House, Carney said the decision to release whathe described as "a few hundred" of the 30,000 illegal immigrants infederal detention was made by "career officials" at the immigrationagency. He said the immigrants who were released were still subject todeportation.
"All of these individuals remain in removalproceedings," Carney said. "Priority for detention remains on seriouscriminal offenders and other individuals who pose a significant threat topublic safety."
ICE is required by Congress to maintain 34,000 immigrationjail beds. As of last week, the agency held an average daily population of30,733 in its jails.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano warned thisweek that DHS might not be able to afford to maintain those 34,000 jail bedsand that mandatory budget cuts would hurt the department's core missions.
"I don't think we can maintain the same level ofsecurity at all places around the country with sequester as withoutsequester," said Napolitano, adding that the impact would be "like arolling ball. It will keep growing."
According to the National Immigration Forum, it costs thegovernment about $164 a day to keep an illegal immigrant facing deportationjailed. In a report on immigration detention costs last year, the advocacygroup said costs for supervised release can range from about 30 cents to $14 aday.
Republican lawmakers have decried the jail releases. Thechairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Michael McCaul, sent aletter Wednesday to ICE Director John Morton asking who was released and whatwas being done to keep track of them.
"This decision reflects the lack ofresource prioritization within the Department of Homeland Security andImmigration and Customs Enforcement and is indicative of the department's weakstance on national security," McCaul wrote.